Why India preferred Israel designed Spike missiles over US made Javelin?

The reason why the issue has gained momentum now is because the production of Israeli designed fire-and-forget guided missile, Spike MR, is set to begin in Hyderabad soon.

In 2011, India had two options - US made FGM-148 Javelin, proposed under a Government-to-Government (G2G) program via U.S. Foreign Military Sale (FMS), and the Spike MR, proposed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.Why India chose Spike?

Spike was chosen because Israel was willing to transfer technology and manufacture the missiles in India which gives a boost to government's 'Make in India' initiative.

Rather than outright purchase of these missiles, India negotiated with Israel for technology transfer so that the missiles can be produced in India.

Spike MR will be manufactured by Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS), which is a joint venture between India's Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd and Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.Spike missile system and its versions:

The Spike system is made up of the launching tripod with its fire control unit and the missile. Spike can be operated from the launcher by infantry, or from mounts that can be fitted to vehicles such as fast attack vehicles, armoured personnel carriers or utility vehicles.

Versions of Spike Missile ::

Spike-SR - The short-range version of the weapon was unveiled in 2012 and has a range of 1-1.5 kms.

Spike-MR - The medium range version which has a range of around 2.5 kms.

Spike-LR - The long-range version which has a range of around 5 kms. RAFAEL introduced new capabilities with Spike LR, extending the missile's range by 25 percent, to five kilometers. This improvement was achieved without changes to the missile's weight, dimensions or interfaces. The weapon uses a two-way fiber-optic datalink to transfer the seeker's image from the missile to the operator, while carrying target updates back to the weapon's guidance system.

Spike-ER - The extended range or extra-long range version of the weapon which has a range 8 kms.

Spike NLOS - The ultra-long range version of the weapon with a claimed maximum range of up to 25 km. RAFAEL engineers are working on expanding the NLOS versatility, enhancing the existing EO-IR/CCD seeker with semi-active laser (SAL) capability.

US made Javelin Missile:

Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance. The system takes a top-attack flight profile against armored vehicles (attacking the top armor, which is generally thinner), but can also take a direct-attack mode for use against buildings, targets inside the minimum top-attack engagement range, and targets under obstructions.

The missile also has the ability to engage helicopters in the direct attack mode. It can reach a peak altitude of 150 m in top-attack mode and 60 m in direct-fire mode. It is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker. The tandem warhead is fitted with two shaped charges: a precursor warhead to detonate any explosive reactive armor and a primary warhead to penetrate base armor.

What's Chinese equivalent of it?

While India is yet to start produced fire-and-forget Spike missiles, China already has an equivalent.

The Chinese Red Arrow 12 displayed at Airshow China 2014 looks like a combination of the Israeli Spike MR and American Javelin. A man portable guided missile system, the Red Arrow 12 is similar to the Israeli Spike MR, another version of the missile seems a copy of the US Javelin.